


shot lipgloss through my veins

by duaa



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety, Demon!AU, Funeral/Memorial, M/M, Overthinking, Remus says that some one should kill him, Running Away, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Unsympathetic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Unsympathetic Creativity | Roman “Princey” Sanders, Unsympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, badthingshappenbingo, i suffer, kicked out, letter by letter, since my net is slow and i know these tags by heart i type them all out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23773447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duaa/pseuds/duaa
Summary: Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he focused on the task before him, it was a supposed to be a way to summon the dead - and guess who was dead? He had to draw a pentagram, offer a drop of blood and say the funky words written in the book. Easy peasy gut squeezy. He drew his pentagram, it was lopsided but it was a pentagram nonetheless. Now for the blood offering. It said sacrifice, but Remus preferred the term offer. It seemed less like he was killing the seventh virgin at the witching hour and more like he worked at the McDonalds drive-thru.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus “The Duke” Sanders/ Deceit Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707997
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	shot lipgloss through my veins

Tomorrow was a funeral. Remus’ brother’s funeral. His only best friend from ages 0 to 16. The only one who tolerated him, talked to him, liked him. The brother who taught him how to ride a bike, how to cook, how to shave, how to drive - the brother who was like just his dad. The gleaming father figure amidst the darkness of Remus' dad leaving. Sure, like a dead beat dad he, too, left. Whisked away Remus’ other siblings, isolating him - there was no physical distance, but emotionally, Remus had never been this stranded. His twin, his younger brother, they all took off, getting the better brother in the figurative divorce. Well, it was more like a restraining order. Sure, his brother wasn’t there for Remus for the past three years. Sure, he scowled and hissed and leered at him, until Remus ran away. And sure, he told him not to come back. Even with all this in mind: he was still Remus’ big bro, still an extremely important person in Remus’ life. The ending had been rocky, but who could blame the guy? And then he went ahead and died, and now tomorrow was his funeral.

And Remus was _not_ invited.

_”Remus, please do not show up, okay?” Patton had nodded at him, eyes wide._

_“Remus, I better not see you there!” Roman had threatened, a flurry of texts and voicemails - in one of them, Patton had been quietly pondering whether they should just change the venue so Remus wouldn't know where to show up._

That hurt, stung like a million needles being shoved down his throat, burning and scratching their way down. It felt like someone slapped him, making him realise that no matter what: no one liked him.

Except his _other_ older brother, Logan. Who was currently pissing Patton off by refusing to come to the funeral either. Logan, unlike Remus, had a more clearer sense of loyalty and decided that telling two high school students to never come back to their rightful places in their home was not Good Brother Behaviour and certainly not Good Adult Behaviour. Logan hated his own twin who discredited him his entire life (and also the running away thing). He said that such behaviour was unacceptable, unwarranted and downright disgusting. Remus would refute that such behaviour was very characteristic of them. Logan would stare at him for a solid thirty seconds and then shrug.

They got along. Which was why when Remus, naive and seventeen, had decided to run away and have consecutive sleepovers with the garbage in their cans - Logan had stepped in. Unlike Remus' own plan of just dicking around, Logan had plans and budgets and an eye on the smallest flat on the planet. Turns out, Logan had been saving up since he was sixteen, unwilling to stay in a place that treated him like tin man with no feelings. Finally eighteen and free from the law that bound him to their brother, Logan was ready to set the plan to action. Remus just proved as a catalyst, because he, too, had some money saved up. It was the fruit of his hard work, he didn't steal and sell pricey things. He did not find blackmail on a teacher and did not get passing grades because of it (chemistry was hard and he needed to get into the university he wanted!).

The rest was history, seven months in, Logan started dating the landlord's son. Remus got into the university he wanted to get into the following year. Everything had been looking up for them.

And then Virgil went ahead and died.

***

"Patton Smith, you get half of Virgil's money. He also left you co-ownership of the house you are currently residing in and a box of his personal knick-knack. We found a letter addressed to you. Here it is."

"Roman Smith, you get the other half of Virgil's money. You are also the co-owner of the same house and you get the car that was previously registered under Virgil's name. This letter is for you."

"Logan... Croft? Well, you get this letter and these books.”

"Remus Croft. Virgil left you this book.”

All Remus had gotten was a rotten book of _magical incantations_. No letter. Nothing of use. And of course, who could forget the lovely conversation with his lovely brothers.

_"Croft? Seriously, Logan?" Patton's hands were on his hips, foot tapping._

_"Actually, I just have a penchant for lying to authoritative figures. You caught me." Logan opened his letter, lip curling upwards as he finished it. He handed it to Remus who promptly stuffed it in his jacket, wanting to savour it when the time was ripe._

_"Don't be such a jackass. Virgil is dead, you don't even look like you care.”_

_"Well then Roman, I'm glad you finally learned how to read people's facial expressions." Remus snorted, knowing that he was very much invisible to them._

_Patton's eyes started getting misty. "How can you say that? He was our brother!”_

_"I only have one brother." Roman looked enraged as Remus' heart soared. He was still getting used to the fact that someone actually liked him, a sad thing to rejoice, but one nonetheless. "And he didn't kick me out. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have someplace to be.”_

_"Where, living in a cabin in the woods?" Logan smiled at Roman, shaking his head. He turned to Remus, an amused look painted on his face. Remus smiled back, teeth peeking out. Remy always said he looked creepy when he did that._

***

He woke up to someone shaking him, urgent whispers that went in one ear and out the other. He groaned, not wanting to wake up. He didn't even have any morning classes right now, what was the big idea? He turned over, trying to pull his covers over his head. The person shook him harder, gibberish now becoming more and more clearer.

"Gurl I will not hesitate to kill you!" Remy. "Look, Patton's here!"

What? He pushed himself up, yawning. "Huh?”

"Patton is here, you need to get up." Remy grabbed his arm, tugging at it. He stumbled out of bed, looping his belt through the jeans he slept in. Remy watched in disbelief as he walked towards the door, forgoing his shirt. It only held him back.

Logan was sitting at dining table, staring dead ahead at the door. Remus slid in beside him, confused. Where was Patton?

"I'm hoping that if we don't respond, he'll give up." Logan whispered as another knock graced their ears. "It's not working.”

"Just send Remy to go and answer the door." Remy nodded, getting up.

"No!" Logan reached out but it was too late, Remy had already crossed into the living room. He opened the door, annoyance dripping off of him. Remus and Logan were hidden from Patton's view, but they could still hear everything

"Hi, um, is Logan here?”

"Do I look like your Logan?”

"Haha, no actually, he looks like me, uh, we're twins! Anyways, uh, do you know which flat he lives in then? I know he lives in this building." Remus and Logan exchanged a look.

"Listen kid, I don't care.”

"Oh my - wait. Is that, that's a picture of Logan!”

"What? No, it isn't. Hey, I can call the cops on you for trespassing!" Patton burst into their field of view, Roman closely following. Patton stared at Logan, mouth agape. "Sorry guys." Remy shrugged, closing the door.

"Logan! Why wouldn't you let us in?!”

"Doll, if some one doesn't open a door for you, it means they don't want you here." Remy smirked.

"I- well, you were pretty rude to me, too!”

"Glad you got the memo!" Remus exclaimed, wanting to go to bed.

Five minutes and one shirt later, the five of them were piling into the cab waiting outside, headed for the funeral. Roman pleaded, Patton cried, Roman threatened, Patton cried, Roman preached, Patton cried. To put an end to their vicious cycle, Logan and Remus agreed to be there. They had no intentions of actually crying and giving speeches about what a wonderful man Virgil Smith was. It just seemed like the easier option, to agree and then ditch out at the last second. They couldn't just abandon service, then, could they?

Well, seeing as how they were capable of abandoning their own brothers, who's to say? Remy and Logan had been talking in hushed tones, hands clasped tightly. Remus could feel something poking at him, a hard edge inside his cargo jacket. Feeling it, he realised he still had Virgil's stupid book of 'very real and true enchantments'. Maybe he should try out the one with the most marking at the house, a great little experiment.

***

Remus looked on in delight at the lipstick Remy gave him - an honour, if he was being honest.

“I don’t like the pigment, it never leaves a mark, y’know?” He smirked before leaving. Wait, leave a mark? Oh dear God, what was Remy doing to Logan?!

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he focused on the task before him, it was a supposed to be a way to summon the dead - and guess who was dead? He had to draw a pentagram, offer a drop of blood and say the funky words written in the book. Easy peasy gut squeezy. He drew his pentagram, it was lopsided but it was a pentagram nonetheless. Now for the blood offering. It said sacrifice, but Remus preferred the term offer. It seemed less like he was killing the seventh virgin at the witching hour and more like he worked at the McDonalds drive-thru.

He pulled out a kitchen knife (clean and sanitised), and drew a small thin line. Little red droplets of blood started accumulating and he gingerly pressed his arm to the ground. He picked up the wipes and cleaned his arm, getting ready for the final incantation. He hadn’t know how to read whatever was written there, but they had a phonetical version below it. Stuttering through it, he dramatically read it out, stressing at the words which felt like they should be stressed. As expected, nothing happened, there was no blue energy surrounding him, Virgil’s ghost did not appear and scowl at him.

“Leaving so soon?”

The sound that left Remus’ throat was high enough to have shattered glass. There were cracks in the ground, brilliant light spilling out of it in beams. The wind that had been blowing outside had picked up again, sending the tress in a frenzy. The voice seemed to echo around forever, the deep rich baritone sending shivers up his spine. Amongst the light that currently searing into his retinas stood a figure, cloaked and hidden, with nothing but their silhouette shown.

The light started fading and Remus blinked, trying to see. He gripped the knife in his hands tightly, ready to fend for himself. The figure stepped forward and Remus realised that they were floating. Cape billowing around their shoulders, Remus could see the outline of these huge wings, flapping slowly. Remus felt slightly faint, what had he done? Who was this? This wasn’t even ... wait. He _had_ heard of this before, once when he was sixteen, a kid in Virgil’s class died a mysterious death.

It was said that she…

”Hello, human.”

...summoned a demon.

"Uhh..." He was still reeling, this was exactly like the kind of stuff Virgil would tell him about, all the conspiracy theories and tumblr posts. All the news articles that they laughed at, all the local channels that they yelled at, all the radio station dedicated to people who summoned the other-wordly, the divine, the supernatural. Everything he believed in was almost kinda sorta _crumbling_ before his eyes, the safety net was suddenly yanked off and he was free falling.

The dust settled and the light finally faded into nothing. The man - demon, whatever - was floating a foot above the ground, his face masked by a bowler's hat he held in front of face. Remus then took note of a glowing, dashed line along his neck, peeking above the collar of his coat. With a start, he realised that the demon had more than one hand, two folded behind him and one smoothing out his hair. He seemed to emit a soft yellow glow, maybe Remus summoned an angel? Huh.

"Well, then, mortal. May I have the pleasure of knowing you?" His voice reminded Remus of the ocean nearing a high tide, the gentle lapping of the water at rocks growing in magnitude until they were crashing down. Remus tried to speak but he found his tongue stuck in his throat. He continued to stare at the demon, watching as he finished preening his hair, carefully setting his hat in place. Remus tried to make out the details of his face, but he found himself squinting, everything far away and way too close at the same time.

"Very well. I'm Deceit. Since you look so confident and ready, I'm going to assume that you don't understand how this works.”

He did not. He had not a singular clue. The stupid book had only said that this was a fun activity to try out with your friends - nothing about the rules and etiquette of the Demon Land.

"I'm a demon, and you - a foolish mortal - have summoned me. Since you summoned me, and have me bound here, I can grant you a wish.”

"So like a fairy?" He blurted out before thinking about what he said. He had the feeling that this Deceit was frowning at him.

"No. I just told you, I'm a demon.”

"Yeah but fairies grant wishes." He just couldn't stop himself. "Besides, you did the whole light trick and whatnot.”

Deceit's chest heaved up and down once. One hand clenched in a fist before letting go. "Sure. Now, go ahead, make a wish." One hand flourished around, making the demon seem more dramatic then Remus would've thought.

"Uh..." A wish? There are no free lunches in life and Remus knew that better than anyone else. There had to be some repercussions! Fairies. The Fae. Maybe this demon was like the Fae, good thing Remus hadn't introduced himself. "What are somethings people have asked for in the past?" He pondered, before scrambling to add on: "Uh - That's not my wish!”

"I'm not a genie. And it isn't exactly a wish, more of a transaction." Ha, Remus knew it. "For example, some one asked wanted to be the strongest person on the planet.”

"Uh huh. And what did you do?"

"I made them the strongest person on the planet.”

"Sure. What did you really do?”

"I made sure that they were the strongest person ever.”

"And how did you do that?" Remus got the feeling that this wasn't exactly costumer privacy problems, Deceit did something to that person.

"Uncontrolled mass growth.”

"Sound like you made them fatter?”

"I did not. They wanted to be strong, they needed stronger muscles - their muscle cells needed to gain mass. If their cells exploded due to not following the laws of biology - it was none of my business." Remus realised that, for some reason, one side of Deceit's face looked green.

"So you're like the Fair Folk, huh?”

"I told you, I am a demon. Nothing more, nothing less. You breath, does that make you a rhinoceros?”

"So, what would you do if I told you my name?" "Call you by your name."

"Well then, I'm Remus."

One of Deceit's hands clenched again. "Your name is not necessary, I am not a human.”

"Yeah, you're a demon. Keep up, blurryface." Remus could swear that Deceit's eyes twitched. "What else did people wish for?”

"Wealth, happiness, security, freedom, debt to be payed off, wars to be won, dead people revived, love -“

"Wait, hold on. You can revive dead people? What's the catch to that one?" "Bold of you to assume I would tell you." Just as Remus was about to answer, the demon pointed at something. "I wasn't aware of an extra sacrifice?”

Huh? Remus turned to see Logan, one hand on the doorknob, the other on his chest. "Remus?" He whispered, swaying slightly.

"Lo!" Remus ran towards him, just as Logan crumpled on the floor, a flurry of limbs. "What did you do to him?" He screeched at Deceit, who was still floating in his stupid little pentagram.

"Nothing. He's just asleep. He can't see me like this, no one apart from you are. When he wakes up, he won't remember this. Have you decided yet?”

Remus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, relief washing over him. He cradled Logan's head, shocked at how blank his face looked like. What would Logan do, if he summoned a demon? For starters, he would not summon a demon. Remus glanced at the demon floating, his face seemed to be getting more and more... clearer as time went by. He already fucked up step one, what would Logan do next? He most certainly would not tiptoe around, diverted and scared. He would figure a way out of this, he wouldn't be wasting time. Logan always had it together, Remus could manage for a few hours. He could do this.

He has this.

"No, Mr. Demon, I have not decided on anything. There is no time limit, so I think I'll take my time." It was a start. Deceit raised an eyebrow - huh.

"The one who owns the pentagram is on his way here. Does he intend on fighting you for its control?”

Who owned the pentagram? Remus drew it, so shouldn't he be the owner? "No." He answered, trying to sound confident. He wasn't sure who it was, but he knew he didn't intend on fighting anyone. Hopefully. The door opened as Logan abruptly stood up, glassy eyes wide open. Remus scrambled up, taking a few steps back as Remy entered the room.

"Gurl, who the fuck is that?" Was it because he drew the pentagram from Remy's lipstick? What would happen if he drew the pentagram from an animal's blood? Would that animal be the owner of the pentagram. What if he drew the pentagram, summoned the demon and then died, would they be bound to the animal forever, floating in the pentagram. What happened if the pentagram was erased? What happened if Remy and Remus died, what would Deceit do then?

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Remus turned around, ready to yell at the demon if he wiped Remy's mind, too. "You too, Logan.”

The demon wasn't there. In his place stood a tall, lithe guy wearing a washed out black denim jacket over a yellow shirt. He held the same hat Deceit wore in his hands, yellow fingerless gloves clad hands fiddling with it. He smiled at Remus and Remus was blown away by how... harmless he looked. He looked like someone Remus would have a class with. This was not the demon who had confessed to killing people, this looked like a dork who committed petty crime like vandalism after his shift at the local cafe.

"Don't mind me!" He continued, way too cheerful for Remus to buy it. "I am extremely vested in this whole... summoning thing." His tone immediately fell flat, the smile on his face never wavering. He looked... very, _very_ weird. And creepy. If someone said that to Remus, he would not question them.

"Uh huh, sure. Babe, can I talk to Remus to for a second?" Logan nodded and walked out, as Remus' resolve strengthened.

Remy pulled him by the arm, as Deceit turned around in his pentagon to give them some privacy. Remus felt like Deceit could hear them anyways, but he wasn't going to complain. He couldn't complain.

"Listen, Remus, I know Logan's been acting like he doesn't care about Virgil and anyone, but this is really hitting him hard. It took some time to sink in and now he's really, really confused. He came here to talk to you about it, but I don't think you guys did. Just... look out for him." Remy took in a deep breath as Remus nodded.

"He misses Virgil. He used to miss everyone, and he still misses them." Remy shook his head as Remus tried to process all this. Logan... he had always just assumed that Logan didn't miss any of them, that he just moved on. Logan had been planning to run away for years, Remus just always thought he hated them.

That wasn't true. He remembered how Logan and Patton got along so well, peacefully building things, reading together, talking together. He remembered how Roman would yell at him for not being like Logan and Patton, not being the perfect twin. He remembered how Logan got along with Roman, staying up till 1 AM to discuss the latest plays, rebutting each other's theories and reciting sonnets. He remembered how Logan and Virgil got along too, quietly enjoying each other's company, never going over the top. Remus was so disconnected because their companionship was something he never had - Logan used to have a loving, caring family.

What if that night Logan hadn't found out that Remus was running away, what if he stayed for longer. Things could have - no, would have improved. Especially if Remus ran away. They would treasure Logan more, talk to him, try to understand him. He wouldn't be left out anymore, a part of a whole that he used to be. Logan didn’t deserve this, he didn’t deserve to only have Remus as his family.

Remus knew that Patton and Roman would change if they were given the chance. If someone explained, someone tried to be the mediator. Were Virgil here today, he would have treated Logan better, tried to make things right again. Remus knew he would have done that, Virgil always ended up doing the right thing, his heart was always in the right place. If only Virgil were here instead of Remus, so many people wouldn’t be suffering. Logan would have a family, Patton would get his twin back and Roman would have all his elder brothers. Remy wouldn’t be so worried about Logan. Logan wouldn’t have to worry about Remus getting into trouble. This demon he summoned wouldn’t be stuck here.

And now, he had a chance to make things right, fate gave him a golden opportunity and he was not going to waste it. He knew what he had to do, what would set everything back on track. Remus had always been the unwanted one, the black sheep. Always so gross and icky, always so useless and troublesome. No one on this planet would ever like him - why couldn’t he see that? He just was like that. It wasn’t his fault, but it didn’t mean that others had to suffer.

Nodding to himself, he made up his mind. Somewhere along the way, Remy had left and Remus was standing right in front of Deceit, inside the pentagram.

“Remus.” Deceit whispered, quiet and morose.

Paying him no attention, Remus stepped out of the pentagram, nerves of steel. “You said you could revive dead people.”

Deceit face crumpled, “Remus you don’t deserve to -“

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough from what I’ve heard.”

That stopped Remus in his tracks, mind racing. “Heard?”

A sigh. “When you stepped in my pentagram, your thoughts were... freely accessible.”

“Then you can obviously see how what I want and why.”

“No-“

“You can’t say no! I get to ask. A life for a life. Bring back Virgil, no nasty tricks involved and take me instead.”

“I-“

“Do it.” Remus was determined to set things right, he _had_ to.

Deceit exhaled, and he never looked smaller before. His shoulders curled forward, head bowed as his hat hung on precariously. “Fine. A life for a life you say. Alright.”

Deceit drew a knife, sleek and shiny. He flicked his wrist, slashing a precise cut across his other palm. The blood dripped from his hands as he spoke: “It’s final.” The droplet finally hit the ground as the rays of light shone once again. Remus couldn’t wait, he was -

Alive. The light cleared faster than it had when Deceit was summoned and Remus could very well feel his heart beat.

“What did -“

“Virgil is alive and sitting up in his open casket as we speak. There are no repercussions - none of your concern anyway.”

“How am I still alive?”

“I did take your life. Once you die a human death, instead of being a wandering soul in purgatory, you will be a demon. Like me.”

Remus stared at him in shock. Deceit gingerly stepped out of the pentagram, tugging on his shirt. “Till then, I need to stay and keep an eye on you.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you like it ❤️💕  
> lmk if you see a typo


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